[trmcrhodes]

I am currently using a Curve 8330 from Alltel. It has built in GPS and I have got it to work with both BB maps and Google Maps but I have been experiencing a couple problems.

First, when I am outdoors it sometimes takes several minutes to lock onto the satellites and locate my position. Second, it is near impossible to get it to lock on inside....even near a window.

If I went to a bluetooth GPS receiver would that solve my problems? If so, could you experienced BB GPS users offer up some suggestions on what receivers have worked good for you?

[cl65ame]

GPS will not work well indoors at all no matter what you do. as for the acquiring sattelites that is normal. The GPS need to sync with at least 2 but preferably 3 or more satellites. Rapid sync is available in high end units but not so much in a phone. It is the nature of the beast. My 8310 has taken as little as 30 seconds and as long at 2 minutes to sync up.
My Garmin averages about a minute.

[FF22]

As suggested, gps reaction time can vary based on when and where it was last used. If it has been moved a great distance or not used for a while, it takes a while to key in on a satellite and "learn" where the rest of them are.

That being said, units are more or less sensitive. I can say that my Freedom gps puck can get readings in my home, on the second floor with 3 layers of shingle and wood up there. My tomtom also gets readings. My older garmin does NOT. But generally I would not count on a gps to get such readings and in an office building or something with more concrete or metal - forget it.

[jeffh]

You will find a lot of Verizon users on the forums have the Freedom Keychain 2000, which is available from the crackberry store. It's lightweight, easy to use, and has excellent sensitivity, as F2 noted. It works well with my blackberry 8830 and my laptop pc. All that said, I don't know that it would work significantly better than the built-in GPS in your phone. Verizon users don't have the choice to compare. If you get one, I'm sure we'd all like to hear your experiences with how one compares to the other.

[MangoGT]

If I were you I would just stick to the built in GPS. How often do you actually need to use GPS inside?

A lot of people recommend the Freedom Keychain 2000 but I think it is entirely overpriced. I purchased the highly rated iTrek M5 from Overstock.com for $55. It turns off automatically (so I just leave it on), it is small and comes with a nice non-adhesive grippy mat to place on the dash of your car, and it automatically connects to your phone so you don't have to pair it each time you use it.

[jeffh]

Thanks for providing another GPS price point. I'm one of the folks who has and consistently recommends a Freedom Keychain 2000, but it's good for people to have choices.